.....what I write when I am not writing software codes. Almost as illogical.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Career Vs Canine.

I live in
Muscat, Oman, a place where generally people are not very fond of pets. Hardly
does one find a stray dog or cat walking down the streets. Unlike India, where
a cow comes and settles down in the middle of the road and people touch and
pray to it instead of clearing the animal so that the blaring ambulance can
pass, it is very different in Muscat where even finding a camel is scarce. To
be frank, the only animals you see are the ones in human form (which can be
spotted at workplace).

Mom and I were
fond of dogs, whereas Papa was totally against any four legged creatures. My
sister still seems to have some kind of an innate aversion to non-humans and thus
even lost puppies were treated like terrorists in our house. I don’t know
somewhere in the course of time I got this idea that pets are okay but giving
them too much importance or spending money over them is too extravagant and
dog-shows were conducted for those golf playing old gentlemen and their
sophisticated wives for time pass. However I was married to a home where there
is a dog for security purposes and it has its place – the animal is well fed, played with outdoors and taken care, but no one ever combed its hair or took it to the vet because
it had a ‘cough’. So my idea that a dog should be treated like a dog took a
stronger grip.

Recently, a very
close friend once said to me, that his friend is moving to Muscat as her
husband got a job here. Her resume was sent to me with a request that it be
forwarded to my employer on priority. I did that promptly. Next day I got a
facebook friend request from this girl whose resume I forwarded. She was
working in India, and now that she is moving to Muscat she also wants to
continue to work. Finding a job in Muscat is not very easy due to the industry
and IT in an early budding stage. There are not too many opportunities to choose
from. Sometimes one may want to go out of their areas of expertise to land a
well-paying job. The maid at my house who now does the cooking cleaning and
babysitting for us, is a qualified nurse in India who couldn't match the
standards of expertise required in hospitals at Muscat and is hence doing this
job to make ends meet. Her two sons are studying in CBSE School in Kerala. Their
fees, medical charges, and house loans - she could not afford to sit idle with
the ever increasing liabilities that gaped wide at her. Hence she was ready to
forgo her education just to support her husband financially. Not just her, I know many qualified women who have taken to
babysitting, tuition for primary and junior school kids, stitching and lots of
other activities to support their families and to stand on their own.

I rarely accept friend requests on facebook from strangers. But this
lady seemed to be really working on the job front, so I added her just in case
she needed any information on that, since she will eventually be settling down
here. The next day after I added her, she pinged me. The conversation went
something like this:

She: Hi Anita!

Me: Hi. How are
you?

She: All well. I
wanted to talk to you, since we are moving to Muscat soon.

Me: No problem.
I have forwarded your resume already. They will contact you when there is a
vacancy. Meanwhile check other options and upload resume in the job portals of
Oman as well.

She: Okay
actually I wanted to ask you something else.

Me: Yes, please.

She: Do you have
any pets at home? Actually my husband’s employer will give accommodation as
well, but I am worried whether it will be a dog friendly apartment, you know.
Do you know about any dog friendly apartments in your area?

Me: I don’t know
even one person who owns a pet here. In fact I recently moved to a bigger
apartment after a lot of exhaustive efforts, for my child who now needs more
space.

She: So is your
home dog friendly?

Me: I guess it
is child friendly.

She: Okay. How
is the climate there as of now?

Me: The summer
has almost died down, now the heat is bearable and evenings are pleasant.

She: Oh so the
dog will have no problems…I guess. Do you know the formality of bringing the
pet in international flight?

Me: I honestly
have no idea about pet rules on airlines.

**By now I am at
my wits end ***

She: Oh okay. I
hope I find something soon.

Me: Yeah wish
you luck on the job front.

She: Yes. I
meant for finding the right apartment.

Me: Okay, bye.

What do you say
about this woman? I mean, on one side, my educated maid’s woes of working in my
kitchen to pay off her loans, and another female who cares only about housing
her canines and whose job hunt comes second. I don’t blame the latter, but I
really think that at least while relocating to another country one should reset
their priorities and also get themselves a reality check once in a while.

Once you keep a dog or rather raise a dog from pup stage, you develop affection. They become like part of family. We have been having dogs for the past 30 years now and I can say it with conviction. However one needs to take a considered decision to keep a pet or not as once you keep one, you have to give proper care. We get our dog vaccinated etc regularly and visit vet if she is seems unwell. Feeding properly and grooming is a must. Her concern for pet is understandable but if your place is not pet friendly, please advise her to leave her dog with her family or dog lover friend. If you find time, do read my post in Feb 2009 or so when I had to stay back home due to our dogs while all others went to attend a wedding outstation.

hey I have good friends who are crazy about dogs too... They love their pets dearly and feed strays all that ... And yes they would never have married anyone who did not like dogs ... Though I have a very detached view about dogs n I think they are crazy sometimes... I do sometimes 'get' them ( stress on 'sometimes' :))

not sure what to say but i believe it all depends upon the definition of priorities .. for a country like india where people give more priority to milking the god idols where they know the same milk can be fed to a poor child is not a top priority !

I think like you too. But I think people who have pets treat them as their own children and hence would want to see their comfort too. You've written a frank post but pet lovers would definitely hate you for it :)

I guess you friend was totally interesting in having pets not realizing why people in Muscat don't keep pets. Maybe when she finally visits Muscat, she'll realize. After all - "While in Rome, do as Romans do" :)

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